Electrical game apparatus



Feb. 10, 1953 J, M, PRENTlCE 2,628,101

ELECTRICAL GAME APPARATUS Filed NOV. 50, 1951 ij l i; if E'E'/j /f/ if j, INVENTOR.

MA1/.136m

Patented Feb. l0, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL GAME APPARATUS James M. Prentice, Holyoke, Mass.

Application November 30, 1951, Serial No. 259,226

1 claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in game apparatus and is directed more particularly to apparatus for use in connection with board games and the like.

The principal objects of the invention are the provision of game apparatus constructed and ar ranged whereby a player influences or controls the result of an opponent's play.

The apparatus of the invention is adapted for broad application and is particularly adapted for sich board games as baseball, football and the As an illustration, when used in connection with a baseball game, a player of the game has his turn at bat while an oppo-nent by manipula.- tion of a component of the game causes the batters play to have a certain result. That is, the batters play may result in a hit, foul or the like according to the rules of play and arrangement of the components of the game apparatus. y

All of the above objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangements of parts thereof, as will fully appear by a perusal of the description below and by various specific features which will be hereinafter set forth.

To the above cited and other ends and with the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claim hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a plan view of game apparatus embodying the novel features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View through the game apparatus shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a digrammatic view showing the electrical wiring of the apparatus shown in Figs. l and 2.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, the invention will be fully described.

A game board is represented by 2 which includes a frame 4, an upper panel 6, an intermediate panel 8 and a lower panel I0,

The game board may be of any dimensions desired and may be of any desired construction. The upper surface of the game board may carry the representation of a baseball diamond, football eld, or whatever is desired.

To explain the construction of the apparatus, it will be assumed that the panel is laid out for a baseball game.

The panel 6 is provided with a plurality of openings I2, I4, I6 and I8, and a contact 20 on the end of a flexible conductor 22 is provided for connecting in an electrical circuit.

A player, called the batter, manipulates the contact 20 by inserting it in one of the aforesaid openings. According to the rules of play, the batter will have that. number of plays according to the rules of the game being simulated.

A slide 24 is movable below panel 6 and is guided for reciprocating movements by members 26. The slide has a manually engageable member 28 at its outer end and a slot 30 is provided in the panel 6 which is traversed by a stem 30 of the member 30.

The slide 24 has a plurality of longitudinally spaced contacts 34, 36, 38, 40 and 42 on its inner end. A pointer 43 is provided on the member 28 for registering with indications 44, 46, 48, and 52 of panel 6. 'Ihe slide is manipulated by a player and indicia may be applied to panel 6 adjacent the indications 44 to 52 inclusive if desired. The pointer and indications facilitate registering a certain contact or contacts with a certain opening or openings in the panel. The relationship of the contacts and openings may be arranged in numerous ways.

Signals 54, 56, 58, and 62 are provided which may be audible or visible signals as may be desired. For illustrative purposes, the signals are light bulbs. These signals show the result of of the batters play as it is ellected by the operation of the slide by the batters opponent.

A source of electrical energy is represented by 64 and may be a battery to which connection 22 is connected.

The battery is connected to the signal light bulbs 54 to 62 inclusive by connections 66, 68, 10, 'I2 and 14 and said bulbs are connected to contacts I2 to I8 inclusive by connections 16, 18, 88, 82 and 84 which will be flexible to accommodate movements of the contacts 34 to 42 relative to the openings I2 to I8 inclusive of the panel.

As stated, the apparatus is adapted for various uses and is particularly adapted for use in connection with games such as football, baseball and the like.

For purposes of disclosure, the operatori will be described in connection with the game of baseball in which case the panel 6 will carry the representation of a baseball diamond and the like. The signals will be appropriately arranged relative to the panel and will be labeled in various ways. For instance, there may be signals indicating strike, foul," home run, etc.

The member 28 and its position will preferably be shielded from the player called the batter so that the batter in his position cannot see the position of this member 28 and thereby possibly have an idea as to the position of the contacts below that opening into which he may in his play insert contact 20.

The board may carry such indications adjacent 44 to 52 inclusive thaty the playermanipulating the slide may know that certain kcontacts are aligned with certain openings thereby to know the certain signal that will be energized with the contact inserted in a certain opening.

In the play of the apparatus, the batter vdoes not know the relationship of the vcontacts and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

Game apparatus comprising in combination, a game board construction including upper and lower panel means, an elongated slide and guide means carried by said panel means for back and forth sliding movements of said slide, a plurality of longitudinally spaced electrical contacts cardoes not necessarily know into whichopening the batter will insert the contact.

As the batter inserts contact 20 through one of the openingsof the panel, it contacts that one of the contacts of the slide which is positioned therebelow so as to energize one of the signals whereby the result of the play is'indicated by the indicia of the panel-associated with that particular signal.

vIna'smuch as there'may be any number of openings in the panel and contacts and light bulbs and the contacts may be shifted for numerous relationships with the openings of the panel, there are numerous results of a play or plays which are unexpected and unknown so that with rules of play in combination with the apparatus, very interesting and exciting games may be provided.

The invention may be embodied in other specic forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be consideredin all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and ried by one end of said slide, said upper panel pro- 'vided 'with relatively spaced openings disposed whereby any one of said contacts may be located in alignment with and below any one of said openings, said upper panel provided with a slot and an end of said slide opposite to said one end provided with a manually engageable member extending upwardly through said slot for one player of the game to slide said slide back and forth, a plurality of electric bulb signals carried by said lower panels extending into openings provided in said upper panel, a source of energy, a flexible contact member for another player of the game connected to said source of energy for engaging a contact of said slide through one of said openings, and connections connecting each of said contacts of the slide and a signal with the source of energy.

JAMES M. PRENTICE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,647,276 Daman Nov. 1, 1927 1,860,895 Marx May 31, 1932 1,943,685 Mayorga Jan. 16, 1934 2,460,770 Shirey Feb. 1, 1949 2,512,820 Bader June 27, 1950 

